Taking on the world

Bridgewater paramedic on national ball hockey roster

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Bridgewater paramedic Amy Dawson will be representing Canada at the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) Women’s World Ball Hockey Championships in Zug, Switzerland next June. (Contributed)

Bridgewater paramedic Amy Dawson will be representing Canada at the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) Women’s World Ball Hockey Championships in Zug, Switzerland next June. (Contributed)

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Amy Dawson will be on the blueline for Canada at the Women’s World Ball Hockey Championships in Switzerland. (Contributed)

Amy Dawson will be on the blueline for Canada at the Women’s World Ball Hockey Championships in Switzerland. (Contributed)

Bridgewater paramedic Amy Dawson will be representing Canada at the International Street and Ball Hockey Federation (ISBHF) Women’s World Ball Hockey Championships in Zug, Switzerland next June, marking the third time she has made the squad.

The Canadian Ball Hockey Association (CBHA) announced the 20 player roster on Oct. 27 for Women’s Team Canada. Of the 20 players selected, 14 are returning from the team that won Gold in St. John’s Newfoundland in 2013.

“I am very pleased to have such a solid veteran base and also to welcome some really exciting new talent,” said Head Coach Diana Brown. “In defending our World Champion status we will face some stiff competition from some hard playing teams such as the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the U.S. But I am confident that our team has what it takes to capture gold again.”

Dawson, who plays defence, was also on the national women’s team that captured silver is Slovakia in 2011.

“I’m looking forward to going, maybe scoring a little,” said Dawson in an interview, who describes herself as a “stay-at-home defenseman.”

It was only by chance that Dawson stated playing ice hockey when she was 12. “That was it. I loved it,” she said. Dawson’s hockey career includes five years with the Saint Mary’s Huskies, capped by the league championship in 2010.

After graduating university, Dawson took up ball hockey and was hooked. “It’s a kind of work your way into it sport,” said Dawson. “It’s the same lines and markings with a few tweaks to the rules.”

When not training or competing, Dawson plays in a ladies ball hockey league in metro Halifax during the summer months, and laces up for pick up ice hockey with her friends and co-workers in the winter.

Preparations for the journey to Zug are already underway, with the team starting fundraising and sponsorship initiatives to raise the funds to make the trip overseas. The first Women’s World Championship took place in 2007 in Germany. The Canadian women’s team captured gold that year, as well as in 2009.